Wagner’s “Sacred Festival Stage Play” at SFO

Yesterday afternoon at the War Memorial Opera House, San Francisco Opera (SFO) presented the first of five performances of Richard Wagner’s final opera, Parsifal. Wagner himself rejected calling this work an opera, describing it, instead, as Ein Bühnenweihfestspiel (a sacred festival stage play). That said, this is a creation that has found its way into performances around the world. Furthermore, because Good Friday is a major factor in the narrative, many opera companies are inclined to schedule performances in conjunction with the celebration of Easter.

The title character dates back to the twelfth century in Perceval ou le Conte du Graal by the twelfth-century trouvère Chrétien de Troyes and the thirteenth-century Middle High German chivalric romance Parzival of the Minnesänger Wolfram von Eschenbach. Both of these involve the Arthurian knight (usually known as Percival) and his quest for the Holy Grail. Wagner’s Parsifal, on the other hand, is a far cry from the Arthurian legends. Rather, he embodies the character of a “holy fool.”

Kundry (Tanja Ariana Baumgartner) under the spell of Klingsor (Falk Stuckmann) in the second act of Parsifal (photograph by Cory Weaver, courtesy of SFO)

Nevertheless, the Grail itself serves as the “backbone” of the overall narrative. It is guarded by an order of knights led by their king, Amfortas (baritone Brian Mulligan). He guarded the Grail with a sacred spear, which was stolen by the sorcerer Klingsor (bass-baritone Falk Stuckmann); and he now suffers a wound that will not heal. According to a prophecy, only an “innocent fool” can end his suffering. That “innocent fool” is Parsifal (tenor Brandon Jovanovich), who kills a swan and is reprimanded by Gurnemanz (bass Kwangchul Youn), one of the knights guarding the Grail. That confrontation leads to an elaborate path involving seduction (Kundry, sung by mezzo Tanja Ariana Baumgartner), frustration, and, ultimately, the healing of Amfortas.

One can appreciate why Wagner refused to call this an opera. The narrative of guarding the Grail is secondary to the emergence of the “innocent fool” and his impact on the social structure created around the Grail itself. The “primary” path of the narrative is the enlightening transformation of Parsifal and the impact of his enlightenment on Kundry, an enlightenment that parallels the curing of Amfortas’ wound.

It goes without saying that the narrative for this opera is a convoluted one. Nevertheless, the staging by Director Matthew Ozawa provided a clear path along which one came to know all of the personalities and the problems they confront, many of which are satisfactorily resolved. It would be unfair to say that this is a plot with a happily-ever-after conclusion. The journey of enlightenment does not always lead to happiness, but it can still take us into a world in which we can live with at least some satisfaction. That is the world in which Amfortas is finally healed!